The difference in total body bone mineral content (BMC) associated with vitamin D deficiency was between 2.7% and 5.5%, whereas the BMD difference ranged from 1.7 to 2.4%, found the study that assessed maternal vitamin D levels at 18 weeks gestation.

“Since a 5% difference in BMD is associated with a 20% difference in the risk of osteoporotic fracture and a 50% difference in the risk of hip fracture, the magnitude of the differences observed may be clinically relevant,” the researchers from WA wrote in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

It was now generally accepted that the intrauterine environment during periods of critical development has long term influences on adult health via fetal programming, the researchers said.

“It is plausible that suboptimal bone development during intrauterine life due to mild maternal vitamin D deficiency could reduce the subsequent trajectory of bone mineral accretion during growth, thus affecting peak bone mass attained by offspring at skeletal maturity,” they wrote.

But they cautioned that the observational nature of their study meant they could not assume the relationships were causal.

Randomised controlled trials of vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy were needed, they concluded.

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